[Illustration: London the natural centre of the world's trade.]
London stands as nearly as possible in the centre of the land surface
of the globe. Its situation, therefore, eminently adapts it to be the
great centre of the world's trade--the great distributing centre of
the world's products. Its ships can go to the farthest parts of the
earth, and, loading themselves with the natural products of these
parts, can bring them to its docks without breaking bulk, deposit them
there for assortment, and then take them away again to other parts of
the earth, and do this more economically than the ships of almost any
other port in the world. But a greater reason is to be found in the
fact that for centuries the British people have pursued a definite
policy of manufacture, trade, and commerce, and have had the good
fortune to have had that policy interfered with in a less degree than
any other nation in the world by commerce-destroying war, whether
internal or external. And whenever Britain has been in external wars
her navy has been able to protect her commercial interests. London,
being the capital of the kingdom and its chief seat of trade, has
naturally derived the principal benefit from these many years of
peaceful industry and commerce. Then, again, London is favourably
adapted to trade in respect to its own country. It is a seaport, sixty
miles inland, and is connected by navigable canals with all the other
chief manufacturing and commercial centres of the country. Its railway
facilities, too, are so complete that there is not a manufacturing
town in the whole island that is not within fifteen hours of
freightage from it. Then, too, the peculiar configuration of the
coast-line of Great Britain makes every point on the island within an
hour or two of carriage from a seaport. Finally, all British seaports
are in trade connection with London by a coasting service unequalled
in the world for cheapness, completeness, and efficiency. In a word,
London stands not only in the centre of the land surface of the globe,
but also at the commercial centre of its own home territory--that is
to say, within easy reach both by water and by land of all the trading
and producing interests of a people that for centuries have been
leaders in commercial and manufacturing industry and enterprise.